Thank You
by Jay Klein
Summary: The moment has finally arrived. Team 7 is about to set out to find Sasuke, but before the gates of Konoha open up for them, one kunoichi must face her own doubts and fears. One shot. NaruSaku friendship.


Summary: The moment has finally arrived. Team 7 is about to set out to find Sasuke, but before the gates of Konoha open up for them, one kunoichi must face her own doubts and fears. One shot.

No real pairings in this one. Just friendship stuff, though it does seem to lean towards a Naruto/Sakura kind of angle, so believe what you want.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor do I ever hope to own it.

Thank You

A soft breeze passes by as a young woman stands a couple of feet away from the famous gates of Konoha village. The young kunoichi is deep in thought, reminiscing about the past and present as her pink hair blows softly across her face. She is quiet; and the only sounds that can be heard are footsteps that are coming closer to where she is standing, though she does not hear them.

"Ah! Sakura-chan!" a voice calls from behind, breaking her away from her thoughts.

"Ah? Naruto…" Sakura says softly. Naruto notices that she is looking at the ground. He senses immediately that something is not right.

"Sakura…chan?"

"He's out there somewhere…" Sakura states softly, as she tilts her head to look straight at the gates in front of her.

"Hmn…" Naruto frowns. _Sasuke…_

"He's out there… with Orochimaru…"

Naruto watches her closely as she continues to look forward.

"Has he gotten taller? Has he gotten stronger?" She begins to ask. "…After these past three years…does he… does he still remember us? These are the questions that keep running through my head."

"Sakura…chan…"

Naruto has difficulty replying to her as he starts to feel something in his chest; a feeling that he's felt many times before in the past.

"Am I strong enough now to actually go out and try to save him?"

"…You still… you still like him a lot huh, Sakura-chan?" he asks in a whisper as he lowers his head. She hears him, however, and turns her head towards Naruto.

"Eh?" Sakura asks, surprise evident in her eyes.

"Hehe. After all these years…" Naruto whispers quietly. He raises his head and looks at her with an expression that he once wore only three years ago in the same exact place.

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan, I haven't forgotten my promise I made to you all those years ago. And I intend to keep that promise—the promise of a lifetime! That's my way of the ninja!" he finishes, showing her a thumbs up and a grin, though somewhat forced, to bring his point home.

"Naruto…" Sakura whispers to herself. Her eyes are starting to shine, tears threatening to spill. _Even all this time… you still…_

"When I find Sasuke, I'll beat some sense into him, before dragging him back here! And then I'm gonna go and kick Orochimaru's ass!" Naruto gives a 1-2-punch to his imaginary opponent in front of him, but he suddenly tenses when he feels something, or rather, someone grabbing a hold of his back.

"…Thank you…"

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto asks quietly, surprise etched in his voice.

"Thank you… Naruto…" She clenches the fabric on his back tighter. "But this time… you don't have to go out there an—"

"Eh!" Naruto breaks free from her grasp and turns around to face her completely. "But, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura only shakes her head as she takes a step closer to him, taking his hands into hers, and looks up directly into his blue eyes.

"This time, Naruto... We're going to bring him back together." She says with a smile, as a few drops of tears manage to escape and cascade down her cheeks.

"Sakura-chan…"

"You've done enough for me already Naruto. Now, it's my turn to contribute something. I've stayed in the sidelines for far too long. I can't keep letting you fight my battles for me. I've grown and become stronger. I've gained courage and self-confidence. And it's not just because of Tsunade-sama's teachings, but because of you… you, Naruto… and for that… I can't ever thank you enough…"

Sakura leans forward, and to Naruto's complete surprise, feels a pair of soft lips pressing against his right cheek. Her lips linger there for a bit longer, before she finally release and whispers one last thing in his ear, "Thank you…Naruto…kun…"

Sakura takes a couple of steps back, leaving a bewildered and blushing Naruto rooted on the spot.

"S-S-Saku—" Naruto begins to stutter out, but before he can finish, a familiar voice has already arrived to greet them.

"Yo. Sorry I'm late, but I had to talk with Tsunade-sama and the other teams one last time about the mission." At once, Sharingan user Kakashi, noticed something in the air. "Eh? Is everything alright?"

"Y-yes, Kakashi-sensei. Everything's all cleared up now." Sakura replies with a small smile on her face.

"Ah. OK, then. Are you both ready to head out? This will be our toughest mission to date. The other teams will be catching up with us later as backup. This will be an official S-rank mission—to find and retrieve Sasuke-kun from Orochimaru."

"Yes..." Sakura replies.

"Naruto-kun?" Kakashi asks as he looks towards his other student."

"…"

Naruto clenches his fists, before finally looking up at Kakashi; an expression of sheer determination covering his face, and brings his right fist forward.

"Let's go kick some ass!"

And with that statement, the gates of Konoha begin to open slowly.

As Naruto begins to walk towards the gates, he is suddenly taken by surprise when he feels a hand grabbing on to his. He turns to his left to find Sakura looking at him with a smile on her face.

"Together…" Sakura whispers to him.

"Hmn… together… we'll bring Sasuke back," Naruto replies, a grin plastered on his face.

And with that, Team 7 exits the safe haven of Konoha in search of their missing comrade.

End.

A/N: This was just a little drabble I came up with while I was just randomly writing stuff on a blank piece of paper. Hope you enjoyed it.

This work has not been beta read.


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